[Question] The Gamingforce Game of the Year 2017: Super Deluxe Gold Voting Edition w/ loot boxes

Knack 2 - 10 Points



I’m making this entry mostly because Tritoch reminded me I could nominate Knack 2. Best game I ever played? No. But it was great mindless platforming on rails that was way better than it had any reason to be. Plus it was free in Australia for a day, so I didn’t actually pay for it.

Taiko No Tatsujin: Drum Session! - 10 points



The first Taiko Drum Master available in English with a drum set since the PS2 game? Yes, please. Very import friendly, though signing up for a Japanese PSN account and acquiring points to get the DLC was kind of a chore. Worth it to play “Let It Go” and the theme from Zootopia in Japanese.

Steamworld Dig 2 - 10 points



Took everything l loved from the first game and made it better. Branching tunnels, cooler powerups, and a neat story. My only regret is having to rush through it so I didn’t have to rebuy the game when I bought my own Switch.

Mario Odyssey - 20 points



Don’t think I need to elaborate here. We all know why Mario was awesome.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 20 points



Wasn’t sure how I was going to like a completely sandbox Zelda; I’m more a fan of the top down dungeon versions like LttP. This game blew away everyone’s expectations, including my own.

Horizon: Zero Dawn - 30 points



It was hard to pick between this one and Zelda. I started with Horizon, dropped it to spend countless hours in Zelda, then picked Horizon back up to finish the story and get all the collectibles. Sure, it doesn’t have the go-anywhere exploration appeal of Zelda, but it does have a fascinating story and way better combat. I just recently wrapped up the Frozen Wilds DLC, and I probably ended up putting as much time into Horizon as I did Zelda.

Honorable Mentions:
-Xenoblade Chronicles 2: I can’t really put this on the game of the year list. Yes, I’ve sunk 50 hours into it and I’m only in chapter 5, but there are so many little problems that hold this game back. Why do I have to listen to the same voice clips and unskippable animations when I do Merc missions and open crystals? Why isn’t there a more streamlined way to dump unwanted blades? Why is the map so terrible? Why do I have to equip the blades for their skills to open doors/chests/etc instead of just having them in my inventory? Don’t get me wrong, I’m having a lot of fun, but Xenoblade is hamstrung by many poor design choices.

-Metroid: Samus Returns: I meant to include this on the actual list, but now that I’ve allocated points I don’t want to take any away from Knack 2.

-Final Fantasy XII: Man, I need to go back to this. I dumped a lot of hours in before Xenoblade came along.

Predictions:

-Destiny 3 will be announced as a F2P shooter.
-Rabbids and Cappy will be playable characters in Smash Bros 5.
-Skills will continue to hate modern games.

Jam it back in, in the dark.